Sign the Petition to

McDonald’s CEO Don Thompson

As the largest purchaser of potatoes in the U.S., McDonald’s has the power to create change in potato-producing regions across the country.

You recognized this opportunity in 2009, when McDonald’s pledged to reduce the application of pesticides used by your potato suppliers.

Unfortunately, McDonald’s is still sourcing potatoes from companies like RDO (R.D. Offutt Company) which frequently use drift-prone and health-hazardous chemicals. A Minnesota-based coalition has tested the air in rural communities near RDO’s potato fields, and found significant amounts of the fungicide chlorothalonil, along with other chemicals and pesticides.

The coalition believes these chemicals are linked to chronic health problems that are prevalent in communities where RDO grows its potatoes.

You have the power to make a difference in these communities. I urge you to make the following changes:

1. Require your potato-producers—like RDO—to achieve measurable and significant decrease in their use of health-harming pesticides.

2. Set a standard requiring your potato-producers to release to the public a list the chemicals they apply to their crops.

3. Fund an independent study on the public health of communities near potato-producers.

How this will help

A Minnesota-based group calling itself the Toxic Taters Coalition says Minnesotans are tired of putting up with toxic chemicals and
pesticides drifting into their yards, schools and farms—the result of
the state's potato farmers' frequent spraying of their potato crops with
toxic chemicals.

The coalition says it's time for McDonald's to keep the promise it
made in 2009, to reduce the amount of pesticides used to produce the
company's famous fries. For the good of not only Minnesotans, but
citizens everywhere who are exposed to pesticide drift from potato
fields.

When Minnesota residents living near potato fields developed serious
chronic health problems, and some operators of small farms lost
livestock to mysterious illnesses, a group of concerned Minnesotans
suspected the problem was linked to the chemicals sprayed on potato
fields. The pesticides and chemicals, they believed, were drifting well
beyond the potato fields.

Using drift catchers, the coalition found chemicals such as chlorothalonil (classified by the EPA has "highly
toxic" and a "probable" carcinogen), chlorpyrifos, pendimethalin, PCNB
and 2,4-D in 66 percent of air samples they tested.

The coalition tried working with state agencies and the region's
largest potato producer, R.D. Offutt Company (RDO), to resolve the
pesticide drift problem. Their efforts went nowhere.

Now the coalition is targeting the buyer of most of the potatoes produced by RDO—McDonald's.

McDonald's buys more than 3.4 billion pounds
of U.S.-grown potatoes every year. As the largest buyer of potatoes in
the world, the $7-billion fast food chain has the power to create change
in potato-producing regions across the country, not just in Minnesota.
All it has to do is require that its potato suppliers implement
strategies to reduce the use of pesticides.

Non-organic potatoes typically are grown using massive amounts of chemicals. Potato fields are sometimes sprayed
every five days at the height of the growing season. That's why
conventionally (which means, chemically) grown potatoes always make it
onto the list of the top 10 fruits and vegetables to avoid if you want to avoid pesticide residue.

The pesticides and other chemicals used to grow non-organic potatoes
don't just end up on the potatoes themselves. These toxic chemicals
drift into neighboring communities, homes and schools.

The Toxic Tater Coalition wants McDonald's to require RDO, and other
companies that supply its potatoes, to follow the lead of Idaho potato
growers who have successfully used integrated pest management (IPM)
strategies to reduce pesticide use. Interestingly, by implementing IPM
techniques, Idaho potato growers have also increased their profits.